bfgfandomcom-20200214-history
Species
ALLIED POWERS E'LAURI '''A well established species of aristocratic beings. The Elauri are strange in that while they put a great deal of stock into lineage and title, almost every Elauri has some background that traces to a noble house and it is not a matter or whether an Elauri has a title but how illustrious the title is. Despite this focus, they are deeply democratic and one of the driving forces behind the Galactic Council. '''History: During the dawn of the Elauri civilization their homeworld was rich in both life and mineral deposits, but an environmental catastrophe at the height of their industrial space age killed off much of the life on their planet. Most of the Elauri died from the catastrophe, but the rich noble houses survived by retreating to shelters deep within the planet's crust. In the aftermath the Elauri changed from several warring and highly oppressive aristocratic regimes into a single unified democratic republic. And after only a few centuries of prosperous growth had advanced into a full-blown spacefaring civilization. Currently the Elauri Commonwealth holds dozens of autonomous democratic planet-states, and their homeworld is the host of the Galactic Council's General Assembly. Despite this prosperity, the Elauri have maintained their familial emphasis and their obsession with Nobility and Title. Unlike other planet's Aristocratic classes, all surviving Elauri are considered Nobility, and the prestige of a noble house is based entirely on the prosperity and power of the house at present and not on any perceived birthright or immutable standing. Society: (Elauri society is split into three tribes each originating from a different continent. Although Elauri of all three tribes intermarry and travel freely between continents, most choose to preserve their family's lineage by marrying from within their own tribe. All three tribes are semi-autonomous, semi-territorial administrative units with a number of governmental functions. These functions include maintaining its own judiciary and electing one member each to the Supreme Tribunal, the Elauri's highest judicial body. While the tribal governments are largely bureaucratic, the global government is a democratic republic consisting of a parliament with 216 members. The Elauri are vastly metropolitan, over 95% live in a city, and most are highly educated. The Navy and the Army are ubiquitous in Elauri society. In fact every Elauri is enlisted as a child and attends a military academy for eighteen years before being placed on active or reserve duty as an adult. This being said, most Elauri will never see active duty, but everyone is certainly ready and willing to defend the freedom of their countrymen and the honor of their family. A small amount of Elauri show psychic potential. At a young age these children are taken to a number of secluded monasteries to become an oracle. The oracles are the spiritual leaders of the Elauri, most live their whole lives in the monasteries consulting those willing to make a dangerous trek up the homeworld's highest mountains. Tribal leaders often make such a pilgrimage before making difficult decisions. Elauri psychics are not held prisoner in the monasteries and often leave to travel the galaxy on pilgrimages of their own. An oracle is never questioned by other Elauri, and they are always welcome to sleep and travel where they like without charge.) Economy: (The Elauri homeworld is an economic powerhouse as the galaxy's leading financiers, and their protectorate worlds are manufacturing giants on the galactic stage. Most high tech goods are at least partially of Elauri make, such as spacecraft and medical equipment, and the homeworld is renowned for their cultural goods such as expensive spirits and fine art. The average Elauri citizen is much wealthier than most other species, and they have parlayed their public funds into eliminating the many social problems that plague most other civilizations.) UDAI ''' The Udai are a race of prolific engineers and merchants. Although they have developed a startling array of technological marvels, they are not driven to empire and are more interested with how things work than how to control them. Udai are also quite individualistic and as such, some may be ruthelss and cunning but find it difficult to call a large force of Udai to their aid unless a mutual threat is present. Though the Udai are not driven to conquer, they are intensely interested in their own defense and as such many successful Udai build what is called an Udai Gauntlet. They are extremely expensive and difficult to build and almost impossible to mass produce even through automation. Each gauntlet is thus highly personalized, but almost all of them contain a palm blaster, a mobile energy shield and a personal sensor battery. Although the Udai are highly intelligent, none has ever shown psionic potential. '''History: (The Udai hail from a harsh Mars-like world in a system with twin suns, and by the time they evolved to sentience only the poles of their planet were inhabitable. The harshness of their homeworld spurred unprecedented innovation and collaboration, which led the the development of and reliance on mechanical technology that far surpasses the other spacefaring species. Strangely enough the Udai were so apt at analog automation that they didn't even develop digital technology until they encountered the Eridani shortly after their first spaceflight. Like a prodigy child literally reaching for the stars the Udai spread across a half dozen nearby worlds within the span of a generation.) Society: (The Udai have a largely libertarian society, and not surprisingly, an almost idealistic laissez-faire economic model whose only regulations are to ensure free trade. Although this is highly conducive to technological innovation, and strong, well-managed industries, there is no real middle class compared to other spacefaring democratic species. Either you're a successful inventor and businessman, or you're a failure and a wage slave. Surprisingly though even the most unsuccessful Udai would prefer to languish in their own mediocre failure then live off the kindness of others. The Udai have no central government to guide them, and local governments are near powerless compared to the might of private industries.) Economy: (Manufacturing is by far the largest industry of the Udai. Almost every large community in Freespace has a sizable Udai population staffing its factories and tech shops. The Udai have a weakness for money, not to buy creature comforts, but to fund their own enterprises. It is the Udai dream to make a better mousetrap, get rich, then make a better particle accelerator. The Udai homeworld is not as affluent as its outlying territories which combined provide more than 20 percent of the galaxy's mineral commodities, and more than 40 percent of the galaxy's mechanical parts. The Udai also own many of the galaxy's interstellar corporations.) QIMARA A species with an almost universal warrior culture. The world of the Qimara is a harsh, high gravity world of extreme temperature shifts. As such the species became very strong of body and will as it evolved, and only those Qimara who could prove themselves worthy in combat and feats of survival were worthy of respect and leadership. Centuries of brutal warfare brought the Qimara to the brink of extinction, leading the Qimara to develop a complex system of honor and giving them a strong distaste for killing sentient beings outside of self-defense or open, honorable warfare. When a Qimaran is considered a full-blooded warrior by his teachers, he is presented with a special sword called the Qima. Very few of these swords exist, and they are passed down to younger warriors as they prove themselves. The Qima are vibroswords far beyond the manufacturing capabilities of most other races. The Qimara take a strong role in the Galactic Council, and act as self appointed protectors of it, partly out of idealism and partially because most Qimara consider other species poorly equipped to protect themselves. The most level headed among them even take on roles as Seneschals. The Qimara are completely lacking in psionic talent. History: (Through darkness and blood into light.) Society: (The laws and mores of the Qimara are strictly enforced by a linear hierarchy of magistrates known as Wardens. Many more democratic species have criticized the Warden power structure as a police state because of the brutality of the sentences they carry out, but in actuality the Wardens are slaves to the law. Most heinous crimes are punishable by death, but accused criminals can confess their sins and take the Warden challenge; finish the five years of training to become a Warden or die trying. Qimarans have an ingrained hatred of captivity and do not have prisons, but instead use a complex discipline matrix that includes varying levels of corporal punishment and a judicious use of capital punishment. The Chief Warden is called the Grandmaster who reports directly to the Qimaran leadership. The Qimaran family unit is virtually nonexistent as they are not monogamous and children are raised communally. These children communes become the extended families of Qimarans in later life and shepherd them into careers that suit them best. The Qimarans have hundreds of military establishments that are divided by territory and specialty. All of these forces are jointly commanded by the people's elected leadership. But despite such strong central leadership the typical Qimaran is independently-minded and individualistic. And most spend the majority of their lives working to own property.) Economy: '''(The Qimaran economy is largely isolationist, as there are very few imported or exported goods. Of course the Qimarans often capitalize on their skills as warriors, and their contract security firms are known throughout the galaxy as the most elite in the business.) '''LOA The Loa are a species of amphibious humanoids from a watery planet in the outer fringes of the galaxy. They are possessed of an extraordinary compulsion for exploration. It is this compulsion that likely led their species to first evolve into amphibious beings, and finally compelled them to travel into the void. This behavior is reinforced by certain cultural practices that are common to all Loa, namely a form of poetry known as the Speaking. The Speaking is an epic history of the Loa in the form of verse. It is tremendously long and records every major accomplishment of the Loa people and the actions of great heroes, philanthropists and adventurers. The Speaking is recorded and added to by a special priest class known as the Speakers. It is the Speakers who decide who is worthy of addition to the Speaking, and ensure that the Loa history is not lost or tainted. Being recorded into the Speaking is the greatest honor a Loa can receive. The verse of the Speaking is sung daily in huge aquatic cathedrals, and although the speaking is constantly growing, it generally takes seventeen to eighteen Terran years of daily song to complete the Speaking, and there are huge holidays and celebrations held in correlation with different verses of the Speaking and an enormous worldwide carnival each time the Speaking is completed, to celebrate the continued existence of the Loa. The song of the Speaking is rumored by those non-Loa who have heard it to be among the most beautiful experiences the galaxy holds. The Speaking has had other serious cultural effects on the Loa as a species, most notably, it has inspired a tremendously fierce warrior culture among the Loa, for not only do their travels and excursions require protection, but religiously, a Loa Warrior sees being recorded into the speaking as the only real corollary in their culture to ideas of an afterlife or immortality and as such, demands the highest degree of honor, commitment and ferocity in the defense of Loa culture and ideals. History: (The Loan rise as a space power was swift in the cosmic sense. The Loan homeworld suffered no mass extinction events so common on other worlds, and the Loa are themselves descendent from the first vertebrates on their planet; a fish-like branch of life. The Loa are by far the most sophisticated life on their planet which has led many to speculate at the true origins of their species. The Loa are renown throughout the galaxy to have an abundance of geniuses and prodigies, and it was not long for them to form an astoundingly effective civilization that developed spaceflight. The species spent hundreds of generations colonizing their home and neighboring systems, but they were isolated by their own success and spent over a thousands of years exploring the galaxy before their contemporaries took to the stars. The Loa Civilization was one of the founding member-states of the Galactic Council.) Society: Thousands of young ichthyoids hatch from their egg-clusters in algae filled freshwater birth pools. The young quickly devour the algae and then start cannibalizing each other. The most successful offspring eventually leave the pools and flop their way to nearby ocean outlets where they swim out to sea and begin their initial journey to the learning communities. The Loa youths start their lives in the learning communities as little more than eating machines, with enormous heads and only a vague humanoid body flailing wildly behind it. But as they mature their bodies grow into their heads, and the adolescent Loa begin to resemble other humanoids much more closely. At the onset of adulthood, about 31 Terran years after birth, the Loa undergo a physiological change that drives them to act very much like human teenagers filled with the blood lust of great white sharks. The Loa begin an instinctual journey back to their birth pools by swimming thousands of miles without assistance. The Loa violently compete to reach the birth pools first where females lay their egg-cluster, and the males inseminate those eggs. After the spawning season, the Loa will never reproduce again in their lifetimes. Outside of the learning communities, the Loa are not dissimilar to other humanoid species, except of course that they have no sexual drive, but are instead more driven by abstract concepts such as compassion, honor, truth, and justice. It is common for Loa young adults to form communes of as little as three to over a thousand like-minded individuals who work collaboratively and profit-share. But this is often a phase and most Loa grow more independent over time often joining the greater community of both Loa and other spacefaring species by middle age. The Loa can live equally well on land or in the ocean but feel very uncomfrotable if they are kept away from bodies of water for excessive period of time. This has led the Loa to colonize primarily water worlds usually left uncolonized by more terrestrial species. This combined with their enormous populations and propensity for exploration has led them to a unique society of colonization. The homeworld of Loa is called Kua'ta, which means Rootworld in the Loan language. Planets which the have colonized and connect directly to their space are called Branchworlds because they are in the same system or in systems connected to the Rootworld. Lastly, the Loan civilization possesses a number of colonized worlds known as Seedworlds which are enclave worlds existing in systems claimed by other galactic powers and species. Many terrestrial species have little use for a water world outside of resource gather because the cost of creating colonies is simply too expensive. Thus, the Loa have been able to successfully barter resources, political favors or sensitive information in order to obtain the right to install sovereign colonies on water worlds in foreign systems. These world are known as Seed Worlds because they do not connect to Loan controlled systems. The Loa are ruled by an assembly of distinguished individuals who possess both the intelligence and the character to govern fairly. This assembly is often criticized to be elitist and undemocratic by other species, especially the Qimara, even though its numbers are comparable to the electorates of other “more democratic” species. The assembly elects a Board of Governors that has established the most collaborative and mutually beneficial society in the galaxy. Having mastered their own existence, the Loa turn their pursuits outward to the broad frontiers of space. The two most visible arms of the Loa Civilization are the League of Questing, a group of explorers, dignitaries and colonists who advocate galactic peace, and their Military Intelligence Corps which often serves as a direct organ of the Galactic Council. The Galactic Council is highly respected by the Loa, and many strive their whole lives to be counted among their ranks.) Economy: (The Loa authorities had long ago dismissed both the use of money and the ownership of property as uncivilized, and have heavily regulated the markets of their worlds. But this has not stopped many Loa from moving to Freespace or Vaarg space and embracing these less than civilized practices. The Loa are typically known on the galactic stage for their superior understanding of the life sciences, and Vaarg space is filled with black market clinics run by ambitious Loa doctors. Although many call the Loa isolationist, this couldn't be further from the truth. It is true that the Loa authorities refuse to trade physical resources with their peers, but they will give huge amounts of aid to any world in dire straits. In exchange for aid the Loa only asks to establish diplomatic relations and scientific cooperation with the imperiled world. Unfortunately most of these relations end without warning when the Loa believe that their new allies are relying too heavily on their aid. What is often left unsaid is that the Loa do trade intelligence with their peer states, and the trade of information is in actuality their form of currency. And keep in mind no Freespace outpost is complete without at least one shifty Loa peddling data chips and rare pills in a dark alley.) ERIDANI The Eridani are keepers of great stores of knowledge and communicate primarily via a natural telepathic ability. Due to their natural aptitude, their knowledge and their unmatched patience for teaching, they have attracted a number of young Psionics who aim to learn to control their powers via meditative methods devised by Eridani sages. They are also renowned for their immense knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants which grow throughout the known galaxy. Masters of this ancient knowledge are known as Eridani Apothecaries and their abilities when given the proper natural materials is almost on par with the pharmacology of other advanced species. The Eridani are one of only three species that had mastered space travel when the Ancients disappeared from the Known Galaxy and as such they have a long and sophisticated viewpoint on the history of galactic civilization that younger species do not possess. The Eridani are, in general, a very spiritual people and believe in the ultimate unity of all living souls. As such, though they occasionally side with one power over another in a conflict, they are most interested in the amelioration of differences and healing rifts that those conflicts create once the immediate threat is extinguished. ' ' NON-ALIGNED POWERS UMBRIEN The Umbrien are a species with a strong tradition of Precognitive Psions that evolved on the fringes of the galaxy and underwent a tremendous civil war that split their civilization in two. The source of the civil war was the creation of a dark cult committed to the domination of life in the galaxy. The Cult began when a number of deeply spiritual Psions traveled to a Beacon left behind by the Ancients. The Beacon was well within Dead Space and took many years to reach. The creatures that returned were no longer Umbrien, at least not in the sense that many of their kin would recognize. Still it took time for their corruption to be fully understood and in that time they created a cult devoted to the worship of the dark power that had infested their Psyches. Little is known about what exactly took hold in the hearts of those Psions, but they claimed the slavish devotion of millions of their people before conflict finally ensued. In the end, the Umbrien who stood against the cult emerged victorious but only after suffering enormous losses and pushing their brethren into the depths of Deadspace. VIMANA The Vimana are a race of non-humanoid Psychokinetics. At some point in their history, they developed machines that shielded their sensitive bodies from the rigors of environments not similar to their homeworld. These machines resemble four legged crabs with gripper arms and are powered entirely by the Vimanas own psychokinetic energy. They are a mysterious species and one of the first to arise in the galaxy, and despite their agreeable nature, they were unwilling to join or aid the Galactic Council and have attempted at all times to keep themselves out of galactic conflicts. SIDEREANS The Sidereans are an ancient race of beings whose culture became obsessed with space travel at some point in their history. Several thousand years ago, their world became uninhabitable and although the Sidereans had very impressive interstellar travel, there were no suitable planets close enough for terraformed colonies to be an option. As such, the majority of their civilization now exists aboard massive mobile star colonies. Due to their highly nomadic nature and the permeability of each colony's population, the Sidereans are highly skeptical of territorial boundaries and almost anarchistic in social structure, distrusting institutional authority and borders. Some Sidereans have been allowed by allies to set up permanent ports on or in orbit around useful worlds. The Sidereans were crucial allies in the creation of the Freespace Republic and the Ark Project that saved so many Posthuman Terrans and their sympathizers. The creation of the Freespace Republic would have been impossible without their colony ships, but eventually one of these ships was destroyed by Imperial Battlescruisers, an event remembered as one of immense sadness for the Sidereans. The destruction of the ship ended the Ark Project permanently which saved the lives of millions of Posthuman prisoners. Sidereans prefer to be aboard spacecraft but suffer no serious adverse effects in Terrestrial settings. In Freespace they are considered beloved heros, with every Siderean considered a citizen and are openly welcomed and treated with hospitality in most parts of Freespace. NYXIANS A mysterious species of acrobatic humanoids with chameleon abilities. The Nyxians evolved on one of the harshest worlds in the galaxy. So harsh in fact that the predators that rule their homeworld made large scale settlement impossible. The species which is relatively small for their oxygen rich world, but is quite cunning and has developed chameleon abilities and are highly acrobatic. They were discovered long ago by a Vaarg expedition and were used as covert forces and assassins in that conflict. When the conflict ended, the Nyxians exerted their independence from the Vaarg. They still have not created large scale settlements on their homeworld due to the wild and dangerous nature of the planet, but they have spread throughout the galaxy and control a rag tag fleet of vessels owned by individual Nyxians. The Nyxians have no large scale government to speak of but are fiercely loyal to their own species and will rise to the aid of a fellow Nyxian if at all possible. AYAMA The Ayama evolved slowly on a lush, temperate world almost perfectly accommodated to life. Their homeworld was rich in resources, with few natural predators and very little serious danger. The Ayama were naturally long-lived and breed only very seldomly keeping them from overpopulating the land or overusing it's resources. For millenia the Ayama culture advanced slowly but peacefully. Ayama culture soon came to center around expression and exploration of the beauty of the natural world, and serious conflicts were relatively unheard of. Those conflicts that did arise were very often handled with rigorous debate and philosophy. In time, the Ayama cultivated a class of craftsmen intensely skilled in Biokinesis who crafted vast cities out of living material, great ports of an analog to coral rose out of the oceans, huge cities of vegetation housed the Ayama even up to the point that they finally stared up at the heavens and set their minds to exploring the vastness of the beautiful universe about them. They did not explore long before they had a mutual first encounter with another young species, the fledgling Terran Imperium. The subsequent several years is known to the Ayama as the Dawn of Sorrows. The lush world of the Ayama was also resource rich, and became a gem in the crown of the new empire. It's inhabitants were first exterminated, and those that survived became slaves of the Terran Elite. Some Ayama managed to escape the extermination, but even of those, many were consumed by terrible depression and were prone to suicide. The Ayama still exist today, many as slaves, but others roam the territories of the Galactic Councils Member Worlds. Most simply wander, attempting to find purpose, trying to find something consumptive in it's beauty. Still others have not given up hope for their species and have begun to adapt to the harsh galaxy they have found themselves in. These few brave Ayama do as much as they can in their pursuit, from working their way into the Galactic Council entreating those who will lend an ear to combat the Terran Imperium, or hire mercenaries and bounty hunters to make strikes against the Terran Imperium or free Ayama who remain enslaved. Others attempt to keep alive the spirit of their culture and attempt to remain true to the happiness and expression that formerly possessed their people, and fight to secure relics of their culture so such things are not lost to time. ROGUE POWERS VAARG '''The Vaarg are a race of warlike beings who in centuries past came close to becoming the primary galactic power. They were, however, defeated in a conflict with the Elauri and their allies. Since then, sanctions and restrictions placed on Vaarg space and the movements of Vaarg ships has turned what was once a proud warrior culture into an insular culture based on personal power and criminal conduct. Much of their economy is based around activities that would be considered criminal because they bypass sanctions created by the fledgling galactic republic. Their society is split largely into syndicates which are rules over by powerful crime bosses. '''TERRAN HEGEMONY The Terran Imperium or Hegemony is a military dictatorship ruled over by Emperor Etrus. It has aggressively expanded its territories and technological capacity over several Terran decades and has engaged in two major conflicts with other galactic powers to date. It also controls the most systems and planets of any single spacefaring species, and is among the most powerful forces in the galaxy. The Terran territories are divided into 3 major sectors, each ruled by a consul that answers only to the Emperor himself. Disintegration of the Terran Senate, Illegality of Transhuman behavior, human purity and supremacy, Emperor Etrus I, Consul of Terra: Head of State, Head of Government, Commander-in-Chief, Son of God Marshal, Imperial Master of Staff: Chief military adviser to the Emperor and executive officer of the armed forces. Pontifex- Appointed spiritual overlord of the Terran Imperium, and chief diplomat of the Empire. Consuls- The two Consuls oversee the work of the Terran Imperium in each of it's two outlying sectors. They also act as personal advisors to the Emperor in matters requiring his authority. Imperial Parliament: The chief legislative body of the Empire consisting of an upper and a lower chamber. The upper chamber of parliament is called the House of Vassals which consists of appointed representatives of Terran corporations. And the lower chamber of parliament is called the House of Nationals which consists of the most loyal citizens in the Empire. In actuality the parliament is simply a vestigial organ masking the Emperor's absolute authority. 15 Praetori- The Praetori are the supreme Military commanders in the Imperium and answer only to the Consuls, the Marshal and the Emperor. 9 of the Praetori command the fleets of the Terran Armada, while 6 command artillery and ground legions. Legate, Praefectus. 40 Quaestor- Each of the 40 Quaestor commands one of the 40 Terran worlds and moons in the name of the Emperor. Each Queastor also acts as the commander of a small peacekeeping force which see to the security of their holdings. 200 Magistrates- Each Terran world and all of it's significant space stations has one to several magistrates that run the day to day affairs on behalf of their Quaestor. Vassals- Vassals are what remain of the executives of corporations that existed in the days of the Republic. They function in much the same way as they did formerly, except now, an executive office can only be held in a company by those granted the privilege by a high ranking official within the Imperium. Inquisitors I've been working on Imperium what do you think? I like it. I think we need to dig deeper into the church thing and really figure it out together. Also, I had this idea for like a big baddie for Apostate campaigns, kinda like the Two by Two, Hands of Blue Agents from Firefly, basically humans that use psionics have their minds eroded and torn apart by it and either have to learn to control and master their abilities through meditative techniques. The other option is to have a nanite cluster in the brain constantly fixing the damage the psionics are doing. I thought this would be cool for an Imperium super boss type thing, like a priest class with incredibly power psionic abilities sent out when someone absolutely has to die or something must be accomplished at any cost. They would of course be more rumors than something we stat up, but that's the sort of stuff I'm thinking about. TERRAN HEGEMONY The Terran Hegemony is the longstanding governing body of the Terran people consisting of a military judiciary, nationalist legislature, and state religion. The Hegemony has existed since the its formation by Emperor Troy I following the disintegration of the Terran Senate. Emperor Troy aggressively expanded the Empire during a decade long campaign against dozens of weaker galactic powers although hostilities ended following his assassination due to a power struggle on Earth. The Terran Hegemony has been led by a coalition government in the absence of an Emperor for the past one hundred years. The Hegemony has leveraged its new provinces wisely, and has significantly developed both its industrial and technological capacity. Not long ago, a young Pontiff named Etrus from a prominent Vassal bloodline gained great popularity among the people and was elected to the Consulate. After suppressing a provincial uprising the ambitious Consul overthrew his fellows and appointed himself as the second Emperor. To date the second Imperium controls the most systems and planets of any single spacefaring civilization, and it is among the most powerful forces in the galaxy. Magisterial Hierarchy Emperor Etrus I, Consul of Terra: Ponifex Maximus, Head of Government, Commander-in-Chief. Consul: The three Consuls are the chief executives of the Terran Imperium. The Emperor always serves as chief Consul while one associate Consul presides over the Imperial Parliament and the other oversees the Proconsuls. Praetor: Fifteen Praetors serve as the flag officers of Imperial Forces and answer directly to the three Consuls. Each Praetor commands either one of the Imperial Armada's seven flagships, or one of the eight Imperial Legions. One of the eight Imperial Legions never leaves Earth and serves as the Emperor's personal guard. Proconsul: Forty Proconsuls serve as the governors of the Imperial Provinces, Terran worlds and moons conquered by the Imperium. Each Proconsul also acts as the commanding officer of Provincial Security Forces. Quaestor: Quaestors are financial administrators in the service of a Consul or Proconsul. Legate: Legates are the senior officers of Imperial Forces, and the personal representatives of a Consul or Proconsul. Prefect: Prefects administrate a large holding within a Province such as a city, space station or military base. Tribune: Tribunes are the junior officers of Imperial Forces. Church Hierarchy Imperium Church: '''Emperor as a divinely inspired being, church existing as a propagandistic and inquistory force that lends credibility to the Emperors edicts in a personal, religious sense, and weeds out the unfaithful in the Hegemony. College of Pontiffs: College of the Holy Seal: '''Rex Sacrorum: The Rex Sacrorum is a pontiff appointed by the Emperor to serve as the Imperium's chief diplomat. Pontiff: Pontiffs are a body of are religious leaders analogous to bishops, but who also serve as ambassadors. Vicar: Vicars are the personal representatives of a pontiff. Inquisitors: Inquisitors are an order priests who seek out and eliminate dissidents. Priests: Priests are church administrators and low-ranking diplomats of the Imperium. Civilian Government Imperial Parliament: The chief legislative body of the Imperium consisting of an upper and a lower chamber presided over by a Consul. The upper chamber of parliament is called the House of Vassals which consists of appointed representatives of Terran corporations while the lower chamber of parliament is called the House of Nationals which consists of the most loyal citizens in the Empire. In actuality the parliament is simply a vestigial organ masking the Emperor's absolute authority. Vassals: Vassals are the executives of the Imperium's corporate holdings. Such corporate offices were once held by the best and the brightest of humanity, but, near the end of the Republic, many were willing to swear fealty to the fledgling Emperor Troy in exchange for hereditary claim to the companies they managed. Nationals: Nationals are citizens who have unquestionably proven their loyalty to the Emperor. The method of proving ones' loyalty is ambiguous, although it is most often awarded to military personnel who commit heinous acts of violence and brutality at the behest of a Magistrate. Nationals may hold public office and vote in general elections. Subjects: Subjects are the average citizens of the Imperium; those who follow the law and adhere to social mores typically lead safe and productive lives, but dissidents are not tolerated. Subjects cannot hold public office or vote in general elections. Military Rank Marshal, Imperial Master of Staff: Chief military adviser to the Emperor and executive officer of the Imperial Forces.